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Mobile: Android Makers Making Bids On InterDigital; Google May Leave Motorola At the Altar

This is huge news if Bloomberg's sources are true. HTC and Samsung are considering a bid on InterDigital's patents. Intel too. We can assuming that just about everyone who were at the Nortel party will be there.

Here's the shocker. Google may be backing away from the Motorola buyout. If true, this is just we as suspected: Google got wind of Motorola playing footsie with someone else, say a giant software company in the northeast, panicked and made a $12 billion bid to stop that nonsense.

Interestingly, Android device makers, HTC and Samsung are in the running for InterDigital's 8K+ patents. Now, keep in mind that HTC and Samsung are both doing well in the mobile market, they, by no means, have deep pockets compared to its non-Android rivals. And their patron, who just blew $12 billion on their rival Motorola, has not been active in protecting them from Apple or Microsoft's push to license its patents.

So, that means Android device makers could be looking at forming an alliance with the losers of the Nortel bid. I think Google will put up serious cash this time around.

Who will win ultimately depends on what each side, each company, each faction thinks InterDigital's values are worth compared to the Nortel patents. Furthermore, will Apple and Microsoft team up once more to thwart Google.

Just as interesting if Motorola is really spurned by Google, what will Motorola do? Use the break-up fee that it'll get from Google and use that to bid against Google?

This is really heating up big time. InterDigital is valued to go as high as $5 billion. I think that's nothing if the Android camp think this is the last stand they can make against Apple and Microsoft and just about anyone else who is suing Android makers.